


Fox Tails and Bunny Dreams

by Milesupshur47



Series: Perfect Space [6]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff without Plot, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Mild Hurt/Comfort, One Shot Collection, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 18:17:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10972752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milesupshur47/pseuds/Milesupshur47
Summary: My long promised one shot collection about everyone's favorite fox and bunny couple. A bunch of slice of life shots and situations.Living together poses new ventures for Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.





	Fox Tails and Bunny Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this out. I've been in a rut recently, worse than my last one. Hopefully I can finish some stuff and get that in here.

\---

Judy and Nick had been unofficially moved in for about a week.

With the two of them soon to be officially moving in together, Judy wanted a little more in the house than cricket chips to snack on, even if Nick went on about how delicious they were and what a satisfying crunch they had. Judy spit her tongue at the nasty buggers and suggested they go grocery shopping.

Despite their time together, Judy had never gone food shopping with a fox before. She had expected the cart to be filled with junk food she never cared for: more cricket chips, fish cutlets, those nasty sushi rolls one always saw at the discount bin...Nick would be just the kind of mammal to try those out.

Judy was surprised at how much of a healthy consumer her fox was. As soon as they had walked through the automatic doors of the store, Nick had grabbed a shopping cart and headed straight for the produce. Judy curiously followed him, expecting a couple carrot related jokes or other assorted rabbit based puns, but instead only saw Nick observing the various vegetables with a keen eye. He picked up a melon and turned it over in his paw, inspecting it for any imperfection that might be apparent, and when he found it to his liking he bagged the fruit and moved on to the next healthy foodstuff.

When they were ready to check out Judy was all but dumbfounded at their haul; melons, cucumbers, lettuce, a fresh box of strawberries, turnips, and yes, even a bushel of carrots. Sure, Nick had wandered off the beaten path for a few junk foods and other provisions, but those were few and far in between. They paid for their food and left without any reason for a fuss.

Once outside Judy asked her fox what was with the sudden shift in dietary maintenance, which he only replied to with a shrug.

“Concerned that I've replaced your layabout boyfriend with an as equally attractive model and how I'm planning on abducting you next?”

Judy rolled her eyes over her smile.

“I'm more so concerned that you picked up practically nothing that I've seen you eat before.” She shifted the paper bag in her arms, eyeing into its contents before pulling out a small yellow carton. “Aside from some vanilla ice cream and…” she shuffled through again and pulled out a dark bottle, “chocolate syrup?” Why did he need that?

The fox snatched the sugary goodness from her paw and deposited it in his own bag, a sly smile playing over his muzzle.

“Ah ah, no peeking. That's for later,” he purred, wiggling his eyebrows.

He later explained how after the pair of them had come together as something more than friends that Nick had been concerned with his health. Nothing serious, simply being cautious of the future. And so it was that he began eating healthier; leafy greens and daily vitamins for that extra boost.

“A healthy fox is a happy fox, and a happy fox is a happy bunny,” he had joked. It was more for Judy than anything else. He had to keep up with her somehow, and a rigorous workout regimen on top of his police routine was not something he was looking forward to.

They made the rest of their way home without trouble and in blissful contentment as they reached their shared domicile. Though everything seemed perfect, a storm had begun brewing in the young Hopps’ mind, and she couldn't shake her own thoughts of their future.

In the kitchen, Judy set the brown bag on the counter.

"I was thinking," she started, looking past the groceries and to the window. "My change of address form will say I'm living here right?"

Nick stalled for a moment but otherwise stowed the fruits he had in his paw.

"Yeah..." he replied with a tone searching for the ground he thought she was broaching.

“Well, that would practically be an admittance of our being, you know...together,” she squeaked out. 

Nick knew she hadn't meant anything by it, but he figured a coy observation or two on her verbal misstep would not go wasted. 

“...together and in love you mean, right Carrots?”

“No! I didn't mean it like that! Of course together and in love! I don't want you to think that I'm ashamed of…” She finally swiveled to spot his telltale toothy grin and realized he had pulled another fast one.

“Oh you evil fox!” She pegged the side of his snout with the loaf of bread and the vulpine trickster chuckled.

Satisfied with her pitch, Judy's expression quickly fell again as the worry settled on her muzzle in the form of a small frown.

“But you understand what I'm getting at, don't you Nick?”

Nick was rubbing the side of his muzzle with a slight smile, sombering as Judy's radiance also simmered.

“Yeah, I do,” he started, letting his paw rest on the counter. “I also know how you like to get worked up about non-problems, my sweet Carrots.”

“I do not!” She stamped her foot.

Nick held up his paw and counted on his fingers. 

“That one time during the thunderstorm?”

“Thunder is scary. It could have shorted out the electricity and caused a fire.”

“That one time I beat you in parking tickets?”

“I told you I was tired!”

“That time with those flirty vixens?”

Her eyes steeled over and Nick felt that he might have pushed it too far.

“They were sniffing around where they shouldn't have and should've kept their paws to themselves.”

Nick cocked his head in conceit. They had been rather aggressive. He had never seen Judy shut someone down so fast. He shuddered just thinking about how...attractive that was. A delicious thought bloomed in his vulpine skull and Nick lidded his eyes halfway.

“You know, since you brought it up, those foxes were pretty pawsy.”

Judy didn't notice the injection of drawl Nick added to the end of his words. She merely crossed her arms at the memory of how one vixen became a little too fresh with her fox. Her fox. And how she had dealt with the vixen the same way any respectable mammal would deal with the likes of her.

She took out the trash. 

“They were,” she huffed definitively. “You're not thinking I was too harsh on them, are you?” she almost dared with her tone.

Nick had moved closer, his paw sliding two fingers over the smooth countertop as he neared his mate.

“On the contrary.” He was almost head-to-fox chest with her.

“Watching you assert your claim on your mate to those vixens...” He shivered from ear to tail tips with a hum rumbling in his throat. “Was just hot.”

Before Judy knew it, they were in the bedroom and Nick was helping her forget all about her “non-problems”. 

\---

Judy awoke with a face full of fox fur tickling her nose. When the dreariness of sleep faded from her eyes, she stared into the back of Nick’s neck once more. She rubbed her nose into his fluff, taking in a long breath to catch his scent. She loved it, the smell of his shampoo coupled with the warm undertone of his natural musk hiding just beneath the russet surface of him. Judy wrapped her arms tighter around his back, interlocking her fingers over his chest and crossing her legs in the same way over his belly.

She thought about how she must look: a small gray backpack of fluff wrapped around the larger red canid. Nick jostled his neck in his sleep and Judy nuzzled into him once more, never letting her grip on him falter. He was her favorite fox; her best friend and her lover. Judy loved him more than anything in the world. 

The reason behind Judy's clingy attitude was twofold. For one, Judy loved being able to be big spoon. Nick would tease at first, but at the feel of Judy's soft downy fur against his back the fox would settle into sleep and drift off, purring all the way.

The second reason was that Judy needed a lifeline of comfort since today was the day.

Judy had woken up that morning with a peculiar idea rattling around her rabbit brain. After the kerfuffle that was her family vacation with Nick, Judy hadn't been able to dodge the thought that maybe it was time: Time to come clean to the ZPD and let everyone in the whole wide city know that Nick and her were dating. Not dating a fox or even dating a friend. No, she was dating her partner. And as she looked over the blankets of Nick's bed to eye that familiar russet devil that made her feel like no other female in the world, Judy couldn't help but smile and wonder how she had gotten so lucky. She caught him, she thought. Of all the fish in the sea, Nick was the lover she had ended up with. And she wouldn't want it any other way.

The fuzzy feelings had stopped once she realized what such an undertaking might entail if they went public, and soon she was pacing up and down the apartment, stopping only to thump her cute little feet in place to alleviate some nervousness. Nick watched her eagerly with his chin in his paw and his eyes gazing dreamily at her lithe form, unaware of the words she was speaking. The way her arms waved grandly at some unknown implication, how her ears stood and dropped with her emotions, and her eyes. They were so full of life, and Nick wanted to spend every night falling asleep with those amethyst gems being the last thing he saw at night and the first thing he saw when he woke up. He had wondered how he had gotten so lucky. Of all the vixens he had seen or had turned him down, he had never felt so happy with the bunny that had conned him into doing taxes. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

Though the taxes could take a hike.

Judy had nervously babbled and droned on in a blur about what might happen to them in a way that would have made the old Nick have a migraine. They could be split up! Or worse, fired. Or thrown in jail! She was sure the handbook wouldn't call for that but anything was possible in her agitated brain.

Nick only smiled and waved off her concerns. Whatever they faced they would face it together, he had said. And his warm smile and even warmer arms had given Judy some manner of peace when she found herself there. He was right. They shouldn't care. And she didn't. Not when she had that face to come home to and plant kisses on her muzzle every night.

The feeling was short-lived though, and Nick had been content to fall into the background and just let Judy burn herself out with her worries. Such were the woes of a hyperactive imagination like hers. Every now and then he would chime in with a "sure" as he looped his belt, or a deadpan "maybe that's too far, Carrots," as he sipped his coffee, but otherwise he held his tongue, happy enough to watch her bounce around the apartment as they got ready for work.

Living together had been one of the best decisions they had made in recent years and to Nick it was easily one of the best in his life. Simply being able to go through their morning routine together each morning was reward enough for the vulpine trickster. It took a lot of the chaff of meeting up out of the equation, and their nights were spent together in perfect company. And the days when Judy made breakfast wearing nothing but panties and his shirt discarded sometime the previous night were days Nick lived for.

For Judy, the extra space of Nick's apartment was a welcome upgrade from her shabby quarters at her old brownstone. It gave her room for growth and personality. Nick's place had its own charm, sure, but it needed a female’s touch in her opinion. A new carpet and a few throw pillows later and the place was dashed with welcome color, color that was only enhanced by the outside neon at night.

All in all they couldn't be happier. But duty called and Judy still agonized over the problem of public affection being known to all. They had kept their relationship a secret for so long it was beginning to feel normal, and Judy knew that wasn't the way she wanted to live her life with Nick. She wanted to walk out of the precinct after a long workday holding his paw. She wanted to kiss him at the New Year's party when the countdown ended. Judy wanted everyone to know how happy she was with her fox on her arm. And Nick didn't blame her. He felt the same way but was more patient about it. The fox had spent so much of his life hiding his emotions from the public as it was, a little workplace subterfuge wouldn't be any extra effort. But for Judy he would open up. For her he would do anything.

When Nick was finally able to shoo Judy out the door he followed closely after her with the bunny still nervously ticking all the way to the precinct. It wasn't long before she stopped altogether, frozen in fear. Nick halted with his usual smirk and waited for what he was sure was to follow. And like clockwork it came. 

Judy turned to the fox with eyes wide and arms planted firmly on her hips. Her foot tapped rapidly against the concrete.

"We shouldn't. We can keep this up for a while longer," she said with a pleading undertone. Nick knew she was looking for permission but he wouldn't give it. Judy had warned him the previous night that she might do something like this and had made him promise to keep her pointed forward.

"Eyes on the horizon Carrots, that's what you told me," he sang with satisfaction. Usually it was him that the bunny had flustered over emotional transparency. To see her equally as flustered tightened his heart a tinge with guilt but another part was giddy to see it. 'Bad Nick,' he halfheartedly chastised himself.

"It's not like you to turn away from a challenge."

"I mean it doesn't have to be," she chortled meekly. "I mean, we've got a good thing going here. So what if no one knows? As long as we're happy that's what matters. Right?"

Nick's smirk widened and he cocked his head to the side.

"You're starting to sound a lot like me, Carrots. And when you start sounding like me then I know something's wrong."

"You always said you would rub off on me," she defended.

"Not in that way," Nick purred smoothly. Judy averted her gaze at his insinuation as a blush instinctively ran up her ears. The fox's acute vision was fine-tuned to these particular reactions and he smiled triumphantly. 

"But this isn't a challenge! It's everyone knowing about-" Her eyes suddenly grew wary of their surroundings and she stopped, blowing out a breath in a huff before looking back up to him with a softened gaze. "I don't want to jeopardize what we have here. I kinda like you," she added, trying to inject the lighthearted nature back into the conversation.

Nick's fingers tingled in his pocket at the compliment and he shrugged.

"Of course you do." He pointed a thumb at his chest. "Irresistible, remember?" Judy smiled and lowered her head in acknowledgment before she felt Nick's paws on her shoulders. He kneeled before her and had removed his sunglasses so when Judy looked up she was met with the brilliant green of his perfect eyes. For a moment she was lost in them and all was calm. She let herself just look at him and be soothed by his presence in a way that made her wonder why it took so long for her to realize what they had been missing. After a period, Nick smiled softly and spoke up.

"Judy, what did I tell you back at the farm?"

Her heart skipped a beat at the syllable of her name. It always sounded like music when it came from his lips. The effect it had on her was instantaneous; the calm that drew over her was solidified and her courage returned forthwith. She drew in a breath through her renewed smile.

"They can't possibly do anything that will tear us apart."

He smiled. "There she is. That's the Carrots I know and love." He stood and held out his paw and she accepted it gratefully, entwining her fingers in his. At the touch of downy fur against the pads of his paw, he tugged her forward in a guiding gesture.

"Now let's go tell everyone you're hopelessly in love with me,” Nick joked.

Judy scoffed up at her partner.

“If I recall correctly, you fell for me, Slick.”

“That's not how I'm going to tell the story,” Nick smiled.

Judy punched him.

They walked for a little longer before they began to near the rising walls of Precinct One. Nick could feel Judy’s fingers tighten in his, and he smoothed his thumb over the back of her paw in response. He couldn't help if he also began to feel the tendrils of nervousness creep into his vulpine brain. But Nick had been adamant; they needed to do this today or they would keep putting it off. 

“Alright Fluff, game plan.” Nick released his hold on Judy's paw to clap both of his and rub determination into them. “We need to be bold, we need to wow them. Show everyone that we mean business and that we're not going to take any guff about it. Capiche?”

Judy didn't have the slightest clue of what he was going on about but his confidence was infectious. She put on her best affirming smile and nodded happily, her ears bobbing with her fervor. 

“Bold,” she parroted. “Wow them.” She held her paw to her chin in thought before pointing it up as she finished the brainstorm. “I think I have an idea.”

Nick winked with confirmation and shoved his paws back in his pockets. They were nearing the doors now and Nick hoped that he could keep it together until they reached Bogo’s office and put everything out in the open. 

“That's my Honeybun. Let's knock ‘em dead.”

They pushed through the doors, passing by a couple of mammals on their way up to the front desk where Benjamin Clawhauser sat munching his morning cereal.

Nick coolly rested his elbow on the desk and he leaned in to greet his tubby friend. 

“Benji, my main mammal! How's life treating you?”

Clawhauser had seen his favorite secret couple strut in and hurried to chomp down the rest of his sugary breakfast. Unfortunately, he was still chewing when Nick started talking and that provided the fox with ample opportunity to interrupt himself.

“Listen buddy, me and Carrots need to have a chit-chat with the boss? Is he in?”

Ben scarfed the rest of his crunchy bits down and swallowed with a heavy breath, slumping for a moment before he regained his semi-composure and beamed happily.

“Sure is. In fact he should be heading down to the bullpen any minute now.”

Nick slapped his paw on the desk and shot a pointed finger at the cheetah. 

“Ben, I knew I could count on you.” He elbowed to his side where up until this moment Judy had stood quietly contemplating over her next move. “Hear that Carrots? We can still catch him if we-”

Judy Hopps leapt onto the desk before he could finish his sentence. Ben instinctively wheeled his chair a few feet back and Nick looked up at his girlfriend with eyes growing increasingly mad with half-concern, half-curiosity.

“Carrots what're you--”

“Attention Precinct One!” she asserted, waving her arms to enhance the profile of her diminutive stature, which had only barely been helped by the height boost of the desk. “Can I have your attention please?”

It didn't take long for the foot traffic from all over the lobby to come to halt. All eyes were instantly on the surprisingly loud bunny rabbit standing on the dispatch desk. Most thought that this was the day Hopps finally bit the big one and lost her marbles, and in a public spectacle no less. Others didn't know who the young bunny was and were merely watching out of curiosity. 

When Judy was sufficiently satisfied with the amount of garnered attention she looked down at Nick. He had forgone his shades the moment Judy had hopped onto the desk and now she could see the concern in his eyes clearly. 

What are you doing? he mouthed.

She grinned nervously back at him, straightening her ears and her posture.

“Being bold,” she whispered down to him. And for a moment, she saw a glint in his eye, a glint of pride and the faintest trace of a smile on his lips. She breathed in, and turned to the crowd.

“Hi! Thank you all for coming! I guess,” she added. She walked to the edge of the desk.

“Some of you may know me, and some of you may not. But those that do know me as a determined mammal. I've always spoken my mind, even when it meant alienating those around me because I believed in the truth.”

“But I haven't been entirely truthful to all of you. To my friends.” She turned her head to gaze upon her fox. “To the one that means the most to me.”

From behind her Ben raised his paw to pull her down before she said something that would get her into trouble, but he was stopped at the wrist by a russet paw. The cheetah looked to his side to see Nick reaching across the desk and the fox shook his head. Ben nodded and let his paw fall to his side. Nick resumed his stance, watching his bunny with morbid curiosity.

Judy turned back to the room and with a final breath she broke the ice.

“My name is Officer Judy Hopps, and I am in love with Nick Wilde.”

The silence was instantaneous. A hush fell over the room. Everywhere around the lobby animals that hadn't stopped their routines froze to look upon the bunny clad in blue, her height amplified only minutely by the desk she stood upon. Perhaps they were only surprised at her voice, Nick hoped. She does have a set of lungs on her. Maybe Nick had imagined the entire ordeal. Maybe he had been in a terrible accident and this scenario was the only way his mind could make sense of the trauma. He was in no such luck.

He would have said something like "That is not what I meant, Carrots!" He would have, if his mouth wasn't wired shut with a mixture of shock, unbridled fear, and surprised respect for his bunny. Even if it was a boneheaded way to announce your relationship, Nick couldn't think of a better way to explain it.

Nick had frozen in place, the only motion from him being his pupils darting in every direction in a desperate search for a way to mitigate this disaster. He saw every pair of eyes on him, glued like he had grown a second tail like the foxes of yore.

He looked to the left; Delgato wordlessly opened his wallet and slipped Wolford a few bills. Francine tilted her head with an expression that simply read "oh", followed by another longer nod as the confession clicked in her head.

He looked to the right; a couple of muzzled weasels being brought in by Officer Trunkaby jerked their heads to snicker quietly at the rabbit. Trunkaby himself shrugged. McHorn, surprising no one, rolled his eyes.

Nick spun on his heels to see Clawhauser desperately fighting back his inevitable squeal. Ben had known of course, but with the floodgates open came the opportunity to actively gossip about his favorite, no longer secret couple.

Everywhere he looked Nick saw animals going through some form of cathartic motion to confirm the words that had come from the perky rabbit. But the one thing Nick noticed was that none of them were frowning. Not until everyone suddenly looked to the administrative level and a horned shadow was cast over the front desk.

Both Judy and Nick reflexively flattened their ears as they turned to see the spectacled form of Chief Bogo standing precariously on the balcony, a clipboard gripped firmly in his powerful hooves. A cold sweat ran down Nick’s temple as he observed the twisted line that was the buffalo's ever-present scowl, and he gulped in preparation for what Judy had feared. Every permutation of "dead fox" the drill sergeant back at the academy had said echoed in his mind when he saw his superior snort out a silent breath.

Beside him, Judy stiffened and puffed out her chest. Whatever punishment came their way she would not apologize. She did not regret what she said or how she said it, and if it came down to it she would do it again with streamers and fireworks spelling it out in the sky. Judy loved Nick Wilde. And she was knot in the slightest sorry about it. She straightened her stance, knitted her brows in focus, and her ears stood tall, waiting for what came next.

Neither she nor her fox could have expected what actually came.

Bogo blinked carefully and looked past his tilted glasses, and after a deafening pause he spoke.

"I don't care."

He turned and walked out of view and everyone else in the precinct followed suit, returning to their preordained schedules. It was as if it never happened, a sentiment that Nick nearly agreed to in his euphoric daze.

Finally, Clawhauser released an excited cry that would put all of his previous outbursts to shame. Nick nearly fainted. Judy merely blinked at the casual air that surrounded them.

Catching his breath, Nick turned to his bunny and grinned toothily, trying not to let his relief show too much. He failed miserably.

"See? Nothing to worry about."

"That went exceptionally well," Judy said, quirking the corner of her mouth in a confused line.

Nick slid into the space at Judy's side and broke the meager normalcy of quiet that befell their immediate vicinity.

"I'm going to be honest. I did not see you doing it like that."

Judy let a shiver pass through her body as the adrenaline wore off. Nick felt the shudder and rubbed her back as she came down from it.

“Honestly? Neither did I,” she chuckled out. She let a paw find its way to Nick's chest. “Everyone knows, Nick. We don't need to hide anymore.”

Nick moved his paw over hers, feeling his heartbeat through her paw before he moved it up to cup his face and he could feel her pulse through her palm.

“You never had to hide with me, Judy.” He smiled and Judy's heart swelled.

“Awwwwwwwwww!”

Both Nick and Judy winced at the cry that came from their side, the moment shattered. They turned to stare daggers at Clawhauser who didn't seem to care for their disapproving glares. He simply rocked his body back and forth in a little dance as he happily fawned over the romantic splendor he had played witness to.

Nick turned back to his bunny, her paw still in his, and he lifted it to his lips and pressed a soft kiss into her fur.

“Come on, Carrots. Duty calls.”

“I know,” she sighed dreamily, staring up at her fox. She smiled, and he smiled back. 

\---

Judy Hopps stood in front of the larger door, the words “Chief Bogo” emblazoned on the frosted glass yawning down at her despite the buffalo’s early display of disinterest. 

Work had passed in the blink of an eye with nothing to show for it except for the new memories of another job well done for the Officers Hopps and Wilde. Judy had urged her fox to return home and think about where all of her things were to go once she had secured a change of address form from their boss. Nick had shuddered at the thought of his partner facing old Buffalo-Butt alone, but he trusted that the rabbit could see this venture through and parted ways from her with a kiss.

Now, Judy was reaching her paw out to knock on the door, the vehicle for her official future living with Nick Wilde a mere few moments away. 

“Enter,” was the word spoken before her knuckles could even rap the wood surface. 

As was customary for the smaller mammal Judy climbed into the oversized chair to better face her superior at an even level, but rather than sit she stood proudly, wanting to demonstrate her pride of her newly public relationship status.

"Sir, I need to request a change in address form."

Bogo glowered his usual sullen features down at the much smaller mammal, and as was the routine Judy was not deterred. She simply smiled and wistfully sang her next words, a display that nearly had the Chief grinding his teeth in reflexive annoyance.

"I'm, uh, moving in with my boyfriend," she almost sang lowly, happy to finally say the words out loud.

Bogo sighed and wiped down his muzzle.

"Fine.” He deftly scooped and straightened the papers already on his desk before depositing them on the desk shelf to his side. He slid the drawer open and began sifting through its contents.

“How long has your relationship with Officer Wilde been going on?" he asked in an already annoyed tone. Probably because he has to ask that question, Judy thought. And if she knew the Chief like she did, she knew he hated questions of a personal nature. Especially mandatory ones. 

Judy chuckled meekly with a smile so wide it hurt to hold as she twiddled with her fingers in her paw.

"A, um." She paused to deliver the news. "About a year. Sir."

Bogo's head dipped a beat at her answer.

"A year," he deadpanned.

"Yes, Sir," Judy chirped, rocking on her heels.

Bogo’s face stilled further if that were even possible as a deeper shadow fell over his brow. His features darkened noticeably, and now the bunny standing chipper was beginning to rethink her dubious revelation concerning her secret fox lover to the precinct. 

“Officer Hopps, need I remind you of what the academy has taught for decades about fraternization between coworkers? What the handbook states here,” he lifted his hoof only to drop a thick textbook on his desk with a bone-shaking slam, “in crystal clear letters what it means, especially when two PARTNERS engage in a romantic relationship? How inappropriate that is?”

Judy's brilliant gaze had long since subsided as soon as the blunt edges of the intimidating mammal’s muzzle before her sharpened. His tone carried a gruff sincerity heightened by the respectable position that Judy held in the highest regard; he was her superior, and he was saying everything that she had feared right to her face. This was it. She or Nick would lose their job and that was the long and short of it. No more ticket competitions, no more long stakeouts where they learned another embarrassing secret about their lover. They still had each other, but without work it was like a little part of them would shrivel and turn to ash. It was not essential to their love. Judy would always love Nick even if it cost her her job, and she knew that he would love her even it if meant the same sacrifice to him. But it would be such a heavy blow…

Judy straightened her stance and braced her foot at the ready. Her paws clenched at her sides, Judy would not lose her partner without a fight.

“Sir, speaking frankly, we've been together a year and have managed to maintain our work ethic,” she had to stifle a snort when saying the word ethic, a word that was used very liberally when describing Nick Wilde, “and you have no reason in the world to believe--”

“Hopps,” was his curt interruption. His hoof flattened against the handbook surface and tapped its cover. “Kidding,” he smiled.

Judy's prepared ten-part speech on the virtues of love and the trust that she held for her partner wilted in the back of her mind. Her pointed finger curled back into her paw and quickly fell to her side. She then adjusted her stance once more as the air of Bogo’s deadpan jest registered in the atmosphere and she crossed her paws behind her back.

“Oh. Good one, sir.”

His features fell again.

“No one likes a suck-up, Hopps.” He produced another paper, approximately sized Judy noted with curiosity, and the buffalo slid it across his desk to the edge. “Have this filled out by tomorrow morning and you'll find your request approved by week’s end.”

Judy decided not to push her luck and thusly left in a hurry. Though she did permit herself to skip out the door.

\---

Later that night at home found the tired vulpine relaxing on the couch. As comfortable as he already was, the gentle weight of Judy’s chin coming to rest on his shoulder from behind was a rather pleasant addition. The bunny looped her arms around him and Nick caught a gentle hint of sunflowers on the air, eliciting a smile on his lips. Judy leaned over the back of the couch standing on her tiptoes to accommodate the much-needed nuzzle she pushed into her fox’s fluff. Nick happily pushed back, basking against the pressure she exerted there.

It wasn't how they had expected the day to go, their coming out. But Nick wouldn't have had it any other way. Judy was loud, boisterous, naive…attentive, inquisitive, caring. She was all of these things, and for a brief moment Nick felt the world slow as his focus faded from the material and onto the physical touch of his bunny against him. In addition to the blessed feeling of her soft fur stroking carefully over his chest, they felt the blooming warmth of openness between them, acceptance of their mate against them. It wasn't sexual (not just sexual), and it was not purely physical. But emotion had a funny way of manifesting in simple terms. Nick need only describe the feeling as good. She was good to him. 

Judy breathed in his scent, letting his presence fill her lungs with a hearty aroma of content fox. She couldn't see his, but she let her eyes slip closed with a smile as she lost herself in him. Nick had already drifted into their shared moment of serenity but decided to take it a step further.

Without a word from either of them Nick turned and scooped up his bunny from under her arms, sliding her gently over the couch and into his lap. They both laid back on the plush cushions and let themselves simply listen to the symphony that was each other’s heartbeat. Nick's ear twitched when the silence broke way for Judy's soft breaths, a contented puff of air becoming the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. Judy’s ears flattened when she laid her head against his chest and began listening to the beat of his heart, the deep rhythm quickly capturing the remainder of her attention.

Nick's tail hung off the side, wagging slowly in the quiet of the living room. Judy's twitched every time the soft fur of Nick's paw stroked near the small tuft of cotton, periodically brushing the barest of touches across the back of his paw.

Judy rubbed her cheek against him and Nick purred in response. She loved when he did that. It was always hard to get him to admit that he was as soft and chewy as she was: a heart of gold beating under his cynical charade that he put on for everyone else. Not for Judy. They had long since established an honesty that knew no practical limitations. It was...liberating. 

“Pretty soon we’ll be living together and getting fed up with leaving the milk on the door or something,” Nick crooned.

“Yeah well, play your cards right and I won't make you sleep on the couch every night.”

“Oh ho! You think you can make me leave my own bed when there's such a lovely bunny waiting for me there?”

“Who says I’m waiting for you, Wilde? Maybe you're there waiting for me,” she said, perking a brow and resting her chin against him. “And besides,” she began reaching up past his head to the dark-tipped point of his ear, “I'm intimately familiar with all of your weaknesses…”

Nick grabbed her by the wrist and looked at her slyly.

“Don't start something you can't finish, Officer Hopps,” he warned, his voice dripping with haughtiness as he released her paw.

Judy's smile grew devilish. 

“Oh I plan to, Officer Wilde.” She began to scratch the spot behind his ear and the purr in Nick’s chest rose to a pleasant vibration against the teasing bunny. “I plan to.”

\---

**Author's Note:**

> I had one note at the top of the document the entire time I write this. "WAKE UP WITH BIG SPOON JUDY, YOU PROMISED KELLER, DAMMIT"  
> So there, we finally got some spooning Jack. Was it good for you as it was for me? XD
> 
> Feel free to leave a suggestion to something you'd like to see. I *might* (heavy might) get around to it. I'm looking for inspiration :p
> 
> Oh, and I have a smut done too. I just need to upload it. So stay tuned for that ;)
> 
> Alan Scott!


End file.
